It's obviously impossible for technicians to capture and recycle all refrigerant ever manufactured. Refrigerant will be leaked into the atmosphere by accidents and careless users. It's irresponsible to be generating substances which can't be easily cleaned up. Over time, these substances will accumulate in large enough quantities to cause serious problems.
Also, what are the wastes produced by manufacturing Peltier chips?
These aren't ridiculous things to consider. It's the reality of the world we live in.
P.S.
Isn't it ironic that the quest to cool ourselves forces us to cool ourselves even more?
What's the matter? Wait in line at the wrong theater?
Okay. Paragraphs are your friend. Try them out sometime. Let me show you what I mean:
If the general plot was not obvious to you, then you have a learning disability.
Making a little universe of expectations in your head is your prerogative, but bear in mind the potential consequences when reality steps back in.
Moving on...
Even if 90% of people feel exactly like you do, it's still a subculture. Please examine the definition.
Sooo.... Because I don't like the same movies as you and am not afraid to speak up I automatically belong to a social group you consider subordinate to your own. That's mature. I also suggest you examine the definition of "subculture" before telling others to do so.
Here's what puzzles me. You wasted your valuable time and money up to three times.
You may find this hard to believe but my comments were directed at movies in general. Apparently, the kool-aid has so affected your judgement you can only discuss three movies.
If it helps you sleep better, I only wasted money on the first film, fast forwarded through the second film after a friend INSISTED I see it and loaned me the DVD, and I slept through the middle third of the last film AFTER a friend bought my ticket. Satisfied?
I don't dislike movies because they are popular or because I belong to some special "subculture". I dislike movies that waste my time and money with dumb dialog, wooden acting, predictable plots and irrelevant special effects.
A bad movie is not just a $10 loss. It also costs time, more money, and lost expectations. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect to be entertained after setting aside a couple hours of your life, paying exorbitant ticket prices, battling traffic, paying the babysitter, etc.
After a lifetime of watching movie studios cater to the lowest common denominator because the test screening subjects "just didn't get it" I have become incredibly critical of bad movies. It's not MY fault. It's the fault of the studio execs who can't see past their spreadsheets or appreciate the fact that movies are an important part of many people's lives. Believe it or not, some people even appreciate them as the art form they SHOULD be, not just a way to waste some time and money.
How can I not help but feel ripped off when I am a quarter of the way into a movie and the entire plot becomes painfully obvious. Is it too much to ask for an original plot? Is it too much to ask to be able to become emotionally involved in a movie? Dumb dialog and bad acting only serve to rip a viewer out of the fantasy of a movie and back into reality.
You are wrong in labeling this a subculture. You are right in recognizing that there are many dissatisfied movie fans.
Tivo should continue to do what it does well but continued emphasis should be placed on using it as a frontend for more powerful PCs.
Tivo is inexpensive, unobtrusive, quiet and good at recording and playing shows. It's also good at presenting multimedia content stored on PCs. It belongs in the living room; your PC doesn't. (once you rise above a dormroom lifestyle, that is )
Ideally, there would be one size Tivo to choose from. I imagine this would allow Tivo to save a lot of money on production, packaging, and support. Believe it or not, there are many people who don't have or want a home network (luddites! ) so I imagine a variety of Tivo models will continue to be available.
The point is, Tivo should get out of the business of selling hard drives and let the PC take care of storage. The 40 hour model would be perfect for those who have PC power to spare.
The PC would also be a better choice for scheduling. A complicated change to the schedule can result in a torturously long wait. I'm guessing a P4 could crank through it a lot faster.
Also, as good as the Tivo interface is it is limited by the resolution of television and the Tivo remote. I would love to be able to drag-n-drop my shows in an iTunes-like interface. You would make all your changes on the PC and then upload the schedule to Tivo.
Tivo could also use the PC to provide tie-ins to things like television and movie information, related merchandise purchases, customized news services, etc. This could all be easily managed from the PC and served up, in limited form, to Tivo for comfortable access from the couch (or the 17" LCD mounted on your excercise bike ).
This is a summary of what I have learned over the past year and
a half. I'm not a professional and this isn't technical
information. It's just practical information that may help some
inkjet printing newbies out there. I learned what I know from
visiting forums and first hand experience. I also conducted my
own (very unscientific) 12 month test.
Hopefully, it will be more helpful than the PC Pro article. (that most
of us couldn't see)
* The beginning.
I purchased a Canon i560 over a year ago as a general purpose
printer.
It was cheap. It had a modest TCO. It printed incredibly
sharp text.
And, BTW, it printed photos. As it turned out, I was stunned by
the
quality of the photos it produced and was thrown head first into an
obsessive journey through forums, web searches, and experiments to find
out how good things really could be.
From what I found on the Web, Canon prints, while beautiful, have a
significantly shorter lifespan than HP or Epson dye prints. (note: the lifespan is typically defined
as visible fading and discoloration, not disintegration )
Canon
predicts about 25 years while HP and Epson predict closer to the 50-75
year mark. Epson pigment ink, when used with specific papers, has
a
predicted lifespan of over 100 years. Fuji Crystal Archive prints
have a predicted lifespan of 65 years. Adding to the confusion, I
found
other sites with markedly different results using different test
methods. I also found people claiming Canon prints would not last
a year. Obviously, the truth lies somewhere in between but I was
curious to find out if Canon prints really were as bad as some people
claimed.
* 12 months of sun and heat.
My experiment
consisted of placing a set of prints in an envelope in a cool dark
place while an identical set was placed a few feet below a sunny roof
window in a loft where the temperature regularly exceeds 100 degrees
farenheit during the summer (not a place you would want to put any
photos). I knew this would be a harsh test but I was curious to
see how the Canon prints would hold up compared to Fuji Crystal Archive
and Kodak dye-sub prints. I also reprinted the photos after 12
months to have fresh prints for comparison.
After 12 months of heat, humidity and direct sunlight I found that the Canon prints exposed to sunlight did fade
noticeably but not as badly as I would have expected. Most
consumers would probably have a hard time noticing anything wrong with
the prints until they were compared side-by-side to the
originals. The Canon prints
stored away from the sun looked identical to the new prints.
The Fuji Crystal Archive prints
(printed on a Fuji Frontier) that were exposed to the sun did not show
any noticeable fading and were indescernable
from the prints stored away from the sun and the new prints.
The Kodak dye-sub prints (printed on
a mini-fridge-sized printer at a large pharmacy chain) that were
exposed to sunlight faded as much as the Canon prints. The
Kodak prints stored away from the sun
were indescernable from the new prints.
Having said that, I should mention that I have a number of 8x10s that
were printed on a small, desktop Kodak dye-sub printer about eight
years ago. They are all framed behind cheap glass and hung in
open areas. They are not exposed to extreme conditions and have
not shown any noticeable deterioration.
The take home points for me?
1. If the print is
going to end up on a refrigerator or on a bulletin board then there is
nothing to worry about. It's basically a disposable photo and all
the printer manufacturers are suited for this.
2. If you want your photos to last but don't want the fuss of selecting
and maintaining a more expensive printer then have them printed on a
Fuji Frontier printer at a commercial location.
3. Consider the Epson printers that use pigment-based inks if you want
to resell or archive your photos.
As everyone knows by now it's not a "photo mosaic." But nobody mentioned that it is actually a "photo montage."
The combination of blogging and photos has many possibilities and this is just one of them. It's a neat idea. The randomness of the current approach may not be very interesting but imagine correlating the photos of a single event taken by multiple "witnesses." (kind of like handing out disposable cameras at a wedding)
The blogged photos of the witnesses could be displayed as a montage, as in this case, or could be viewed dynamically using a variety of interfaces, including dynamic montages. The addition of timestamps and GPS information could be used to drive the alternate interfaces. A user could view an event through the eyes of multiple witnesses and control how the images are presented. Imagine the possiblities with video and automated editing.
Personally, I think this would be a great way to see something like Burning Man.
Interestingly and eventually, it might not do "thugs" any good to try to confiscate photo and video footage. Multiple perspectives of the situation may have already been transferred to the internet and made available to the world.
The only movie my friends and I walked out on in high school. Mind you, we had pretty low standards in those days, set by such masterpieces as "Deathstalker" (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0087127/), and even this didn't meet them.
Does anyone else remember a glut of awful movies in the early 80's from places like Italy and Argentina? The Italian zombie flics were a riot (complete with babies eating their mothers, etc.).
I still can't believe the major theater chains were showing these. I also can't believe the families that would show up for these. The 2 year old at Deathstalker that screamed every time someone got smushed by the guy with the giant hammer was real annoying. I wonder what he's like today? (the kid, not the guy with the hammer)
Sorry to "deflate" everyone's enthusiasm but...
on
Zeppelin Flies Again
·
· Score: 1
What about terrorism concerns? How susceptible are blimps and zeppelins to cheap, crude missiles (i.e. guns) fired from the ground? They fly at relatively low altitudes so they would be an easy target.
The FAQ lists the following for the hull construction:
1. Tedlar (PVF) layer which acts as a gas seal
2. Polyester mesh layer which strengthens the hull
3. Heat-sealable Polyurethane layer, which enables joining of the individual hull strips.
Do other ships use similar materials? Are they more or less susceptible to damage?
I know many people consider this to be professional suicide but consider bailing out every few years and do something YOU want to do for several months. Contract work sometimes has this built in.
1) It gives you something to look forward to and work towards.
2) It requires and promotes responsible financial planning.
3) It gives you a feeling of control.
4) It restricts your "suffering" to finite periods of time.
5) It recharges your creative batteries.
6) It opens new possibilities.
7) It gives you quality time to spend with your family and friends.
8) It gives you a chance to catch up on technologies YOU are interested in instead of what your job requires.
9) It gives you a chance to do positive things you will be able to reflect on when you end up in a nursing home or are disabled at a relatively early age.
It can be done even with a mortgage, a family and a slow economy. You might have to make sacrifices in your long term goals but in the long run you will probably benefit from a richer life experience.
I don't think it has hurt me in many interviews. Most people express admiration for taking such a bold step and admit they would like to do it themselves. If it has hurt a job prospect I probably wouldn't do well working for such a person.
The Guardian has posted an article from 1956 which criticized the attack on Egypt by Britain and France. The language and accusations are eerily similar to what we are dealing with today.
The world must be told clearly that millions of British people are deeply shocked by the aggressive policy of the Government. Its action in attacking Egypt is a disaster of the first magnitude
It could be misused but think of how it might have been used in a situation like Operation Anaconda. It could have been sprinkled along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
I always wanted to hook up an old toy as an input device for Doom. I remember it from the 70's or 80's. It had two large, plastic wheels you sat between. You grabbed the handle and rotated the wheels to move around, much like tank treads. Add some pedals for your feet and stick the whole thing on rollers and you'd get a heck of a full-body workout. A higher level of fitness (instead of spasmodic keystrokes) would actually give you an advantage against similarly equipped players. Come to think of it, maybe
I can't remember the name of the toy but I found a modern knockoff: Whirly Wheels
My disdain for Macs (and their elitists) has fermented ever since the day I made the mistake of going into a Mac store in Harvard Square. They had a little bit of PC software around so I asked them when the next version of Metawhatever's Paintbrush would be available on the PC. I got this condescending "Paintbrush will NEVER be available for a PC. It's too graphically intense to be supported on something like Windows 3.1." I just shrugged and went home to play with my older version of Paintbrush on my Windows PC and waited for the next release.
Obviously, this doesn't represent ALL Mac users but it really summed up the snotty attitude associated with Apple and their fervent supporters.
I have no "love" for MS, but all I can say is Windows and PC's were there when I needed them. They were affordable and they worked. Once the graphics and sound capabilities of Windows/PC caught up to the Macs I quit wishing I had one and focused on creating stuff instead.
Apple just makes their users look like a bunch of inept dolts.
My computer-phobic in-laws just bought an XP machine, set it up, connected it to the internet, connected a printer and started using it immediately. No big deal.
If they can do it anyone can.
I was having trouble getting work done before with my manually created list of news sources. Now all I have to do is stare at the screen and hit 'refresh'.
Maybe I can link refreshes to a blink of my eyes.
Slashdot Mirror
The Big Dig's not on here, yet. ;-)
http://www.library.ubc.ca/scieng/engineeringfailur e/EngFailures.htm
Also, what are the wastes produced by manufacturing Peltier chips?
These aren't ridiculous things to consider. It's the reality of the world we live in.
P.S. Isn't it ironic that the quest to cool ourselves forces us to cool ourselves even more?
Moving on...
Sooo.... Because I don't like the same movies as you and am not afraid to speak up I automatically belong to a social group you consider subordinate to your own. That's mature. I also suggest you examine the definition of "subculture" before telling others to do so.
You may find this hard to believe but my comments were directed at movies in general. Apparently, the kool-aid has so affected your judgement you can only discuss three movies.
If it helps you sleep better, I only wasted money on the first film, fast forwarded through the second film after a friend INSISTED I see it and loaned me the DVD, and I slept through the middle third of the last film AFTER a friend bought my ticket. Satisfied?
I don't dislike movies because they are popular or because I belong to some special "subculture". I dislike movies that waste my time and money with dumb dialog, wooden acting, predictable plots and irrelevant special effects. A bad movie is not just a $10 loss. It also costs time, more money, and lost expectations. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect to be entertained after setting aside a couple hours of your life, paying exorbitant ticket prices, battling traffic, paying the babysitter, etc. After a lifetime of watching movie studios cater to the lowest common denominator because the test screening subjects "just didn't get it" I have become incredibly critical of bad movies. It's not MY fault. It's the fault of the studio execs who can't see past their spreadsheets or appreciate the fact that movies are an important part of many people's lives. Believe it or not, some people even appreciate them as the art form they SHOULD be, not just a way to waste some time and money. How can I not help but feel ripped off when I am a quarter of the way into a movie and the entire plot becomes painfully obvious. Is it too much to ask for an original plot? Is it too much to ask to be able to become emotionally involved in a movie? Dumb dialog and bad acting only serve to rip a viewer out of the fantasy of a movie and back into reality. You are wrong in labeling this a subculture. You are right in recognizing that there are many dissatisfied movie fans.
Tivo is inexpensive, unobtrusive, quiet and good at recording and playing shows. It's also good at presenting multimedia content stored on PCs. It belongs in the living room; your PC doesn't. (once you rise above a dormroom lifestyle, that is )
Ideally, there would be one size Tivo to choose from. I imagine this would allow Tivo to save a lot of money on production, packaging, and support. Believe it or not, there are many people who don't have or want a home network (luddites! ) so I imagine a variety of Tivo models will continue to be available.
The point is, Tivo should get out of the business of selling hard drives and let the PC take care of storage. The 40 hour model would be perfect for those who have PC power to spare.
The PC would also be a better choice for scheduling. A complicated change to the schedule can result in a torturously long wait. I'm guessing a P4 could crank through it a lot faster.
Also, as good as the Tivo interface is it is limited by the resolution of television and the Tivo remote. I would love to be able to drag-n-drop my shows in an iTunes-like interface. You would make all your changes on the PC and then upload the schedule to Tivo.
Tivo could also use the PC to provide tie-ins to things like television and movie information, related merchandise purchases, customized news services, etc. This could all be easily managed from the PC and served up, in limited form, to Tivo for comfortable access from the couch (or the 17" LCD mounted on your excercise bike ).
* Introduction
This is a summary of what I have learned over the past year and a half. I'm not a professional and this isn't technical information. It's just practical information that may help some inkjet printing newbies out there. I learned what I know from visiting forums and first hand experience. I also conducted my own (very unscientific) 12 month test.
Hopefully, it will be more helpful than the PC Pro article. (that most of us couldn't see)
* The beginning.
I purchased a Canon i560 over a year ago as a general purpose printer. It was cheap. It had a modest TCO. It printed incredibly sharp text. And, BTW, it printed photos. As it turned out, I was stunned by the quality of the photos it produced and was thrown head first into an obsessive journey through forums, web searches, and experiments to find out how good things really could be.
From what I found on the Web, Canon prints, while beautiful, have a significantly shorter lifespan than HP or Epson dye prints. (note: the lifespan is typically defined as visible fading and discoloration, not disintegration ) Canon predicts about 25 years while HP and Epson predict closer to the 50-75 year mark. Epson pigment ink, when used with specific papers, has a predicted lifespan of over 100 years. Fuji Crystal Archive prints have a predicted lifespan of 65 years. Adding to the confusion, I found other sites with markedly different results using different test methods. I also found people claiming Canon prints would not last a year. Obviously, the truth lies somewhere in between but I was curious to find out if Canon prints really were as bad as some people claimed.
* 12 months of sun and heat.
My experiment consisted of placing a set of prints in an envelope in a cool dark place while an identical set was placed a few feet below a sunny roof window in a loft where the temperature regularly exceeds 100 degrees farenheit during the summer (not a place you would want to put any photos). I knew this would be a harsh test but I was curious to see how the Canon prints would hold up compared to Fuji Crystal Archive and Kodak dye-sub prints. I also reprinted the photos after 12 months to have fresh prints for comparison.
After 12 months of heat, humidity and direct sunlight I found that the Canon prints exposed to sunlight did fade noticeably but not as badly as I would have expected. Most consumers would probably have a hard time noticing anything wrong with the prints until they were compared side-by-side to the originals. The Canon prints stored away from the sun looked identical to the new prints.
The Fuji Crystal Archive prints (printed on a Fuji Frontier) that were exposed to the sun did not show any noticeable fading and were indescernable from the prints stored away from the sun and the new prints.
The Kodak dye-sub prints (printed on a mini-fridge-sized printer at a large pharmacy chain) that were exposed to sunlight faded as much as the Canon prints. The Kodak prints stored away from the sun were indescernable from the new prints.
Having said that, I should mention that I have a number of 8x10s that were printed on a small, desktop Kodak dye-sub printer about eight years ago. They are all framed behind cheap glass and hung in open areas. They are not exposed to extreme conditions and have not shown any noticeable deterioration.
The take home points for me?
1. If the print is going to end up on a refrigerator or on a bulletin board then there is nothing to worry about. It's basically a disposable photo and all the printer manufacturers are suited for this.
2. If you want your photos to last but don't want the fuss of selecting and maintaining a more expensive printer then have them printed on a Fuji Frontier printer at a commercial location.
3. Consider the Epson printers that use pigment-based inks if you want to resell or archive your photos.
4. A
The combination of blogging and photos has many possibilities and this is just one of them. It's a neat idea. The randomness of the current approach may not be very interesting but imagine correlating the photos of a single event taken by multiple "witnesses." (kind of like handing out disposable cameras at a wedding)
The blogged photos of the witnesses could be displayed as a montage, as in this case, or could be viewed dynamically using a variety of interfaces, including dynamic montages. The addition of timestamps and GPS information could be used to drive the alternate interfaces. A user could view an event through the eyes of multiple witnesses and control how the images are presented. Imagine the possiblities with video and automated editing.
Personally, I think this would be a great way to see something like Burning Man.
Interestingly and eventually, it might not do "thugs" any good to try to confiscate photo and video footage. Multiple perspectives of the situation may have already been transferred to the internet and made available to the world.
The only movie my friends and I walked out on in high school. Mind you, we had pretty low standards in those days, set by such masterpieces as "Deathstalker" (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0087127/), and even this didn't meet them.
Does anyone else remember a glut of awful movies in the early 80's from places like Italy and Argentina? The Italian zombie flics were a riot (complete with babies eating their mothers, etc.).
I still can't believe the major theater chains were showing these. I also can't believe the families that would show up for these. The 2 year old at Deathstalker that screamed every time someone got smushed by the guy with the giant hammer was real annoying. I wonder what he's like today? (the kid, not the guy with the hammer)
What about terrorism concerns? How susceptible are blimps and zeppelins to cheap, crude missiles (i.e. guns) fired from the ground? They fly at relatively low altitudes so they would be an easy target. The FAQ lists the following for the hull construction: 1. Tedlar (PVF) layer which acts as a gas seal 2. Polyester mesh layer which strengthens the hull 3. Heat-sealable Polyurethane layer, which enables joining of the individual hull strips. Do other ships use similar materials? Are they more or less susceptible to damage?
1) It gives you something to look forward to and work towards.
2) It requires and promotes responsible financial planning.
3) It gives you a feeling of control.
4) It restricts your "suffering" to finite periods of time.
5) It recharges your creative batteries.
6) It opens new possibilities.
7) It gives you quality time to spend with your family and friends.
8) It gives you a chance to catch up on technologies YOU are interested in instead of what your job requires.
9) It gives you a chance to do positive things you will be able to reflect on when you end up in a nursing home or are disabled at a relatively early age.
It can be done even with a mortgage, a family and a slow economy. You might have to make sacrifices in your long term goals but in the long run you will probably benefit from a richer life experience.
I don't think it has hurt me in many interviews. Most people express admiration for taking such a bold step and admit they would like to do it themselves. If it has hurt a job prospect I probably wouldn't do well working for such a person.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/history/0,12792,876 851,00.html
"A disaster
The world must be told clearly that millions of British people are deeply shocked by the aggressive policy of the Government. Its action in attacking Egypt is a disaster of the first magnitude
Thursday November 1, 1956"
how do they get cleaned up?
;-)
New business opportunity. Detection and removal of Smart Dust.
Ain't capitalism great?
It could be misused but think of how it might have been used in a situation like Operation Anaconda. It could have been sprinkled along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
I always wanted to hook up an old toy as an input device for Doom. I remember it from the 70's or 80's. It had two large, plastic wheels you sat between. You grabbed the handle and rotated the wheels to move around, much like tank treads. Add some pedals for your feet and stick the whole thing on rollers and you'd get a heck of a full-body workout. A higher level of fitness (instead of spasmodic keystrokes) would actually give you an advantage against similarly equipped players. Come to think of it, maybe
I can't remember the name of the toy but I found a modern knockoff: Whirly Wheels
MS marketing dropped the ball as usual.
Now is the perfect time to launch an "I didn't need to switch because I got it right the first time" campaign.
Do they jump on this opportunity? Noooooohhh...
Yup. This is a big boost for Dell. Your typical PC buyer wants the same thing they use at work whether it's the "best" or not.
Bingo!
My disdain for Macs (and their elitists) has fermented ever since the day I made the mistake of going into a Mac store in Harvard Square. They had a little bit of PC software around so I asked them when the next version of Metawhatever's Paintbrush would be available on the PC. I got this condescending "Paintbrush will NEVER be available for a PC. It's too graphically intense to be supported on something like Windows 3.1." I just shrugged and went home to play with my older version of Paintbrush on my Windows PC and waited for the next release.
Obviously, this doesn't represent ALL Mac users but it really summed up the snotty attitude associated with Apple and their fervent supporters.
I have no "love" for MS, but all I can say is Windows and PC's were there when I needed them. They were affordable and they worked. Once the graphics and sound capabilities of Windows/PC caught up to the Macs I quit wishing I had one and focused on creating stuff instead.
Apple just makes their users look like a bunch of inept dolts. My computer-phobic in-laws just bought an XP machine, set it up, connected it to the internet, connected a printer and started using it immediately. No big deal. If they can do it anyone can.
I was having trouble getting work done before with my manually created list of news sources. Now all I have to do is stare at the screen and hit 'refresh'. Maybe I can link refreshes to a blink of my eyes.